Oh. 

Iomedae would not have asked Evelyn to give up Heaven for her. She feels sick, and dizzy, and - and Evelyn was trying to do the right thing, even if it got her order to renounce her, and - that is brave, there is something impoverished and shortsighted about only seeing that as a tragedy - if Iomedae had to do it someday she would not want people to only be appalled, when they heard -

- Iomedae offers Evelyn a hug. 

Evelyn is CONFUSED and CONCERNED and it's not like either of those are new feelings to have, around Iomedae, this weekend. 

....She will not turn down a hug. She will hug Iomedae back, even. She has a lot of accumulated hugs she's wanted to give Iomedae, at various points, when it seemed like Iomedae wasn't feeling at all open to hugs. 

"- I think I'm still missing something," she says after a few moments, without actually letting go of the hug. "It seemed like - whatever I just said was important to you - and, I mean, I was trying, but..." 

"Two things important to you were enemies, and one of them was - the work of your life - and I am sorry, that they were enemies, that you having to choose. I have not had to choose that, and if I ever do, it hurt very badly. I wish it had not been. I am - honored, and sad, and proud, and I see so strength in you. And God be proud you too." 

And she lets go. 

"...I still not going tell you the thing. As I say, it not about whether you good person or bad person. It about Iomedae no play with lives of tens, hundreds, thousands, millions, other people, until I know things, and I not know things. I study English, and treat you like honorable person, and you treat me like honorable person, but no can decide with other peoples' lives. Never again."

That does not really leave Evelyn any less confused–

one of them was - the work of your life - and I am sorry, that they were enemies

...or maybe it does, and it's just that she doesn't like it. At all. And possibly made an enormous mistake, here, which she likes even less. 

- and none of that is the point, is it. What does Iomedae need, right now...

Nod. "I - think I understand, or at least I'm trying to. I'm glad that you're being careful. And - it's okay if you don't want to tell me things, but - if you're confused about how things work, in America, I'll still be here to answer your questions and I'm never going to be angry at you for asking them." 

"That is very kind of you. I will learn about America and try very hard only ask you for help honorably. ...I not a child, but I very new a holy warrior. I think there some important things I was - playing at, not doing right. And I no can think I done make mistakes. Or even that I can pay for mistakes when I make them. But I try make smaller mistakes, catch faster."

“…Yeah, I think that’s probably right. You’re very new at this and you’re - a long way from home, aren’t you.”

Evelyn is pretty sure she’s STILL missing a huge chunk of what’s actually going on in Iomedae’s head, but she can also recognize the feeling that pushing any harder on it right now won’t result in learning more and will antagonize the child with her. 

“- all right, that’s all I wanted to say. Goodnight, love.”

"Goodnight, ma'am."

She goes back upstairs. Checks if Alfirin is still in her room or if she's washing as ordered.

Alfirin has not found a good hiding place for the spellbook at all - Everywhere she's found is so obvious a child would think of it in their first five minutes of searching. Which isn't surprising, really. She needs to spend more than five minutes on it. She's put it under the mattress for now and is washing.

She waits for her to be done washing. She does not have the instinct she shouldn't interrupt another girl in the middle of showering but if the door opens Alfirin won't know it's her not Jeremy. "Evelyn has never heard of Taldor. The police hadn't either. I find that confusing. I think important rich people in Taldor have heard of the empires on other continents, though I haven't, personally. I'm wondering if it's a secret and I shouldn't have mentioned it. Evelyn now thinks Taldor is a small village on this continent and I mean to let her go on thinking that.... I wasn't sure if that was allowed but it apparently is, at least if I'm not trying to use Evelyn's ignorance I've gone and encouraged to harm her."

"I thought we were probably over the crown of the world. Very far away, people speak different languages, maybe they do not know Taldor. Are there other 'continent's?" The word seems unfamiliar to her, at least in Taldane.

"Well, there's the sand lands, but they've definitely heard of Taldor there. There's where Azlant used to be that's just small islands. I don't think we're there. There's the dragonlands. I don't think we're in the dragonlands, because there aren't any dragons, but I guess the legends I heard about them could be mostly made up. I don't know if the dragonlands are over the ...crown of the world... or not."

"I do not know either. The crown of the world is where if you go north and go as far north as you can go. And then I guess you keep going north, though I do not know how that would work, and then you are in another place that is very different, but not as different as the first world or another plane."

"And this place isn't as different as the first world or another plane, because we'd be dead. Maybe I'm being silly, and they know of Taldor by another name, though it still might well be unwise to identify myself as from there."

"Maybe. Do you think America and Taldor are at war?"

"I don't know. None of the possibilities make much sense to me. Maybe they are at war, but that makes it less likely that rich people here wouldn't have heard of Taldor at all, and that no one would speak Taldane or recognize it spoken. Maybe they are so far there is no point in having a war until they have grown up to the borders of the other. I don't think Taldor is at war with the dragonlands. But they would go to steal its secrets, at least, if they knew it had magic like this. ...and I think the dragonlands might be helping fight Tar-Baphon? I'm not sure if that was the dragonlands doing it or just brave adventurers from it. But it'd make sense for the dragonlands to do it, if they think Taldor's losing to Tar-Baphon and want it to be a war that lasts forever and not a war one side wins." That was something Iomedae's father said about Qadira but it seems like it'd extend obviously to other places.

"...Who is Tar-Baphon?"

"- maybe I'm just imagining everyone knowing things that actually only matter to people near where I live. Tar-Baphon rules the land north of Taldor, and we are at war with him, and he is a very evil very powerful wizard, and it's not just Taldor fighting him, the dwarves are doing it too, and heroes from all over the world, or so I was told. Aroden Himself came from Axis to fight Tar-Baphon, a long time ago, and He won but Tar-Baphon came back after thousands of years. People say Aroden might have to come Himself again, I don't think the war is going very well."

"I do not know very many things about Taldor and its wars. Important people probably do know about that though? It sounds like a thing important people would know."

"It was not at all confusing to me that the workers I travelled with knew none of the names and wars I knew from home. But it is a little strange to me now that the police didn't and that Evelyn doesn't. She owns hundreds of books.

Anyway. I won't ask you to say or not say anything in particular but I am leaving Evelyn with the impression I am from a village called Taldor in some poor country on the borders of this empire."

"...Why are you not asking me to say or not say anything? If I tell Evelyn that Taldor is a big empire she will ask you and you will have to tell her that is so."

"Yes, so I would rather you didn't do that, but I don't know if that's in your interests, so I'd be asking for a favor, and I'm your translator for now and you're a slave in a foreign country and you have little reason to trust me so it'd be dishonorable to ask you for favors."

"You are also a slave. You can ask me favors.

...I was not going to tell her that, anyway. I did tell the other person - Diel - that I am from Undarin in Sarkoris so she maybe knows Sarkoris is a country and not a city - And that Taldane is not my best language. So maybe she can figure out that Taldor is not a city."

"I haven't heard of Sarkoris, I couldn't have told you it was a country. I guess we'll see if they think to ask me more pointed questions later or not. 

I should wash in the rainstorm magic and go to bed. It's nice to meet you, I wish the circumstances were different, may your path be Aroden's and His yours."